Snowflakes and Peppermint
by balletismyobsession
Summary: A reluctant trip to the ice skating rink turns into an unexpected meeting. But while Kurt thinks nothing can make him forgive Blaine, this time of year is full of surprises. POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING FOR 2nd CHAPTER


**Based off of spoiler pics for an upcoming episode I found on Tumblr. This will probably be two or three parts. I'm sorry I haven't updated my other stories; I get excited about something and then run out of steam and start something new. Anyway, this will go deeper into the unexplored storyline of what happened when Blaine cheated (also based off of a user's thought from Tumblr, but I can't remember who it was)... **

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"How you ever got me out here, I have no idea." Kurt's eyebrows were raised as he tilted his chin up to survey the scene in front of him.

"Oh, come on bud. You loved ice skating as a kid."

Kurt turned his head to give a small smile to his dad. "I'm not a kid anymore, dad."

Burt cleared his throat and shuffled a bit, in a way that seemed to add more vulnerability to the man Kurt had seen weaken and climb back to health. Burt's voice was soft when he placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder and said, "Then humor an old man."

Kurt felt his lip twitch into a bigger smile. "Don't think this means you're getting out of taking me for hot chocolate." He remembered their tradition very clearly, though he hadn't been back here in years. And their duo had been a trio at that time. He knew it meant a lot to his dad that he'd agreed to come this year, for whatever reason had made Burt want to relive their annual drive to gaze at the Christmas lights en route to the ice rink.

And just being here brought back so many memories. His hands reached up to thread the button through the top hole of his coat, as his mother used to do when he was small. Burt no longer ruffled his hair as he would have years ago, but now he gave his son an affectionate nudge with his shoulder.

"Wouldn't think about missing that. You know it's the whole reason I'd come." Burt laughed and Kurt knew for however many years his mother had tried to coax him onto the ice with her and their son, she'd been unsuccessful. And every year, the two would skate until Kurt was too tired with his cheeks red and bright, and Burt would be waiting for them, balancing three hot chocolates. Elizabeth's with the stick of peppermint, Kurt's with cinnamon, and his with no whipped cream.

Kurt swore he could smell peppermint in the air when he took a deep breath and squeezed his father's arm softly before turning to the counter to rent his skates. It had been so long since he'd been here, or skating in general, and after lacing up tightly, he tittered over to the door, carefully placing one skate on the ice and hoping he would make it more than two feet before he fell on his butt.

Surprisingly, the feel of being on the ice was more muscle memory than he remembered having. _Like riding a bike, _he thought as he began his first lap around. The rink wasn't too crowded, though he watched as the small children raced past him, skating faster than he could ever want to go anymore. This coat was Armani, not the best thing to be skating in, but winter was his favorite season and Kurt Hummel was not going to pass up any small opportunity to look his best.

Kurt didn't remember how many laps he'd done. He'd glance up every so often and see his father sitting in the bleachers with other parents and on the last look, Kurt had seen Burt with a small girl, no older than three, perched on his lap and making her giggle as her parents watched on. Kurt felt a warmth fill his heart. It was then that he felt glad he came, if only to see the look of real happiness on his father's face that had evaded him for so long year after year at Christmastime.

The song playing over the loudspeaker faded and then grew louder as it changed. Maybe it was chance that Kurt happened to pay attention at that moment, but the first notes of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" filled the rink and Kurt's heart ached but he quickly pushed aside that feeling to concentrate on his skating and not start crying in the middle of the ice.

He managed to keep the bitter thoughts from his mind through the song and almost breathed a sigh of relief when "White Christmas" replaced the previous song. He untucked his gloved hands from his pockets and reached up to pull his hat further down over his ears. And one hard shove later and Kurt was on the ground, the cold quickly seeping through his jeans from where he'd fallen on his butt. A little breathless at having the wind knocked out of him, Kurt heard a clatter and a crash, followed by an "Ooof!" Then a man exclaimed, "Sorry!" with his voice already fading as the man skated away and he pulled up his skewed hat from over his eyes.

Biting his tongue, Kurt spewed all sorts of insults in his head at the hit-and-run skater and shifted to his knees to ask the other person the man had knocked down if he was okay. And at the sight of the mop of unusually curly black hair, even though the person's face was covered by his arms as he'd tried to protect himself as he fell, Kurt knew exactly who it was.

Blaine looked shocked as he lowered his hands to rub at his side. But the way Blaine avoided his gaze until the last minute possible told Kurt that it wasn't coincidence that Blaine was here. Kurt felt anger sizzle through his veins. Blaine was ruining this occasion, just like he ruined their relationship. Finally, Blaine lifted his gaze and for a moment, Kurt simply couldn't put the coldness into his words when he said, "What are you doing here?" Because Blaine didn't look like Blaine. He looked broken, frail, sadder than Kurt had ever seen him and his eyes were full of an emotion Kurt couldn't place.

Blaine's mouth opened a tiny bit before he scooted himself back, the pain in his side forgotten as he slid his bare hands on the ice to move away. "I…I'm…s…sorry. I didn't… I…"

It wasn't the cold making his voice shake. Blaine looked like a deer caught in the blinding headlights before the painful hit. And as much as Kurt hated him for betraying him, for cheating when the long distance had been hard on him too, and breaking every strand of trust he thought they'd created, Kurt couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He just looked….well to be frank, he looked pathetic. It was as if he expected Kurt to hit him, which even at his angriest, Kurt would never, ever do such a thing to anyone.

Blaine had stopped stuttering and just sat there with his knees bent at to the side, one skate lace undone and trailing down. He'd just stopped. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to disappear under the stare of Kurt's eyes and yet, it seemed like he couldn't get his body to move.

"I wasn't following you, I swear. I… I just… I'm sorry." His hand gripped back at his side and his eyes stayed downcast, as they had except for that one moment when they'd held each other's gaze.

Kurt couldn't keep the question from his mouth, but there wasn't any anger in his tone anymore, simply curiosity. "Then what _are_ you doing here?"

"Something to do," Blaine said softly and the tone of his voice began to crack at Kurt's protected heart.

"Isn't—Doesn't Brittany throw a Christmas party around this time?"

"Wasn't invited." His tone stayed the same, and he didn't look up.

"What? Blaine that's—there's got to be a mistake or something." Kurt pushed himself up and brushed off his bottom as he stood, hoping his butt wasn't as wet as it felt. "Brittany is forgetful but she wouldn't—"

"I'm not hard to overlook," Blaine said quietly, as he attempted to stand.

Kurt quickly held out a hand. "Here."

Blaine didn't respond to him and even when he was standing, Kurt could see how the weight of loneliness was curving his shoulders forward and lowering his head. "What?" He pulled his hand back as the automatic reaction to being ignored was voiced.

"Nothing."

"No, it's not nothing. What is it?"

"Your dad's calling you." And Blaine turned to skate away and Kurt felt his brows pull down, waving blindly at his father. He rushed forward, grabbing Blaine's arm, surprised when Blaine yanked his arm away.

"_What_?"

"Oh, so now you want to talk?" Blaine's voice held the sharp sting of pain.

Kurt felt his defensiveness return. "I'm not the one who's following around the guy he cheated on. You wanted to say something, so say it."

Blaine was silent, eyes trying to hold Kurt's gaze steady but failing with the way his irises darted back and forth, the green magnified by the mounting tears. The reminder of their painful break-up clenched in Kurt's chest. For as long as he'd known Blaine, he should have remembered that a confrontation with Blaine only resulted in him closing off. Blaine swallowed hard, Kurt saw the words clearly written in his eyes proclaiming nothing short of 'help me,' and Kurt knew this went far deeper than what he'd brushed off.

"What's going on?"


End file.
